“Sailing boat, sailing boat, let go your lines and go now!” The voice from the canal control tower crackled over the radio and we did as we were told. We were the only boat to enter the 6.3 kilometre Corinth Canal which links the Ionian Sea between Italy and Greece with the Aegean. It took nearly an hour to motor at full speed against the 1 knot current between towering limestone walls only 25 meters apart to make the full transit.
Corinth Canal, Peloponnes…
Walter Bibikow
The canal is a maritime engineering marvel to be sure. Cut through Greek territory near the site of ancient Corinth, it separates the mountanous Peloponnese from the rest of the mainland and effectively makes the former an island.
The canal certainly cuts down the time taken to make East to West passages or vice versa and eliminates the passage around the often wild and tempestuous southern capes of the Peloponnese, but one wonders why there are so few boats using the waterway today. Has this masterpiece of construction become a white elephant?
Ships in Narrow Corinth C…
Diana Mayfield
Corinth’s power in the golden age of Greece lay in its key position controlling the passage by sea from the Ionian to the Aegean across the narrow isthmus or the landward passage from Greece proper to the Peloponnese. It takes little imagination to see why the construction of a canal occupied so many minds through the ages.
It was the building of the Suez Canal in the late nineteenth century which spurred the independent Greek government to finally make the canal a reality, but the result was a passage way so narrow that few modern cargo vessels can use it. Additionally, the earthquake prone territory and crumbly stone make maintenance of the canal an ongoing expensive concern.
Construction of the Corin…
Today, the canal is more of a route for tourist traffic than a serious seagoing option for commercial craft. Large ships avoid the canal because they are either too wide or too deep.
“Sailing boat, go faster, go faster,” the voice implored us. We were encountering the strong current and adverse winds that funnel through the canal that the canal is well known for. Now followed by an impatient fishing boat, it still seemed faintly ridiculous that there was any hurry. But the canal is a one way maritime traffic system – it is so narrow that boats can only pass through one at a time, with several vessels following in line at busy times. Larger ships which just fit must be towed through by tug boats.
Nowadays, about 10,000 boats use the canal each year, avoiding the 700 kilometres trip around the three southern capes.
Ahead we could see the last bridge still blocking our passageway out into the Gulf of Corinth. Several road bridges including a motorway bridge cross the canal high above the water and allow motorists and pedestrians a fascinating glimpse of the passing boats far below. Two bridges need to be dropped into the water to allow boats to pass and the passage is carefully controlled by the canal authorities.
Finally, we popped out from the canal into the choppy gulf waters and passed a small freighter and two yachts waiting to pass through the opposite way. Although the canal is reputed to be the most expensive to transit of any of the world’s major canals per kilometre we reckoned the saving in time and diesel was well worth it. Perhaps the Corinth Canal was not such a white elephant after all!
Joseph Mallord William Turner (Covent Garden, London, 23 April 1775 – Chelsea, London, December 19, 1851), was an English painter specialized in landscapes. He was considered a controversial figure in his time, but today he is seen as the artist who elevated the art of landscapes to the category of historic paint. Although renowned for his oil paintings, Turner is also known as one of the great masters of British watercolor landscape painting. He is commonly regarded as “the painter of light” and his work is considered a romantic preface to impresionism.
His father, William Turner, was a wig maker who later became a barber. His mother, Mary Marshall, a housewife, was gradually losing his mental stability when she was young, perhaps because of the death of Turner’s younger sister in 1786. She died in 1804. This was the possible cause that led to the young Turner being sent to Brentford, a small town west of London near the River Thames, with his maternal uncle in in 1785. There Turner first showed his interest in painting. A year later he went to school in Margate, Kent, east of London in the Thames Estuary area. By then Turner had done several works that were displayed at his father’s trade exhibitor.
The “Fighting Temeraire” Tugged to He…
William Turner
Turner entered the Royal Academy of Art when he was just 14. He was accepted at 15, because, unlike his contemporaries, he was interested in being part of it. At first, he showed a keen interest in architecture, but his painting activity was stimulated by the architect Thomas Hardwick (junior). Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy at that time, admitted Turner definitely committing him to the world of art. In 1790, after only one year of study, one of his watercolors was accepted for the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of that year. His first oil painting, Fishermen at Sea, was exhibited in 1796. For the rest of his life, he would regularly exhibit paintings at the Academy.
Detail of Sailing Ship from The Slave…
Joseph Mallord William Turner
In his youth he learned the watercolor techniques together with painter Thomas Girtin, who colored plates to illustrated several travel books.
He is commonly known as the painter of light, renowned not only for his oils and watercolors but also because he is considered one of the founders of English watercolor landscape painting.
One of his most famous works is “The reckless towed to dry dock”, painted in 1839, is deposited at the National Gallery in London.
Turner traveled around Europe, starting his journey in France and Switzerland in 1802, studying at the Louvre in Paris, that same year. He also visited Venice. During a visit to Lyme Regis in Dorset, England, he painted a storm scene, now in the Museum of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Lifeboat and Manby Apparatus Going of…
William Turner
As he grew older, Turner became more eccentric. He had few friends except his father, who lived with him thirty years, eventually assisting him in his studio. His father died in 1829, which produced a deep impression, which led into depression.
He died at his home in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, on December 19, 1851. At his request he was buried in the cathedral of S. Paul, where he lies next to Sir Joshua Reynolds. His last exhibition at the Royal Academy was in 1850.
Any homesick Spaniard cast ashore anywhere around the world would probably shed a tear and feel a warm heart at the sight of the Spanish Navy’s training ship, the 94 metre “Juan Sebastian Elcano” glide into port.
Apart from serving the nation for over 80 years as a cadet training ship, the huge square rigger acts as a “floating ambassador” for Spain as it makes its good will voyages around the globe.
Built in 1927 in Cadiz, by shipbuilders Echevarrieta y Larrigo, the ship’s chief construction engineer’s wish was for his creation to be named after one of Spain’s most famous seafarers. Juan Sebastian Elcano was one of the men who led the 5 strong expedition to discover a fast and simple route to the East Indies in the early sixteenth century, an expedition commanded by an even more famous man, Ferdinand Magellan. Every boat but one was lost on that ill fated voyage and Magellan too perished at the hands of natives of the Phillipines. Juan Sebastian Elcano was the captain of the only boat to survive, the “Victoria”.
Tall Ships Stad Amsterdam and J. Sebastian Elcano
At 94.1 metres long, without the bowsprit, and 13.3 metres in beam, the four masted top sail schooner is one of the largest of the world’s class A tall ships, and also one of the oldest.
Its inaugural voyage, after being launched by the then Prime Minister’s daughter, Carmen, was to Malaga with the King, Alfonso XIII, on board. It subsequently made a successful trip to the Canary Islands, San Sebastian, on the Basque coast and then back to Cadiz.
On its seventy fifth anniversary, King Alfonso’s grandson, the current King Juan Carlos, was a passenger on an identical trip from Cadiz to Malaga. The king probably reminisced about his time spent on the ship in earlier days when he was a navy cadet with 40 odd others.
Juan Sebastiano Elcano, Spanish Navig…
As might be expected, the grand dame of the Spanish Navy has made innumerable long voyages in its lifetime as well as having had several refits. One of the most recent embellishments was a new figurehead carved from North American cedar. The figurehead was a carving of the Roman goddess Minerva and has the Spanish coat of arms at its feet.
The ship has circumnavigated the globe ten times, but has also transited the Straits of Magellan at the bottom of South America twelve times. The total distance the Juan Sebastian Elcano has covered in the last eighty years is over one and a half million nautical miles and it has visited 180 ports in over 68 different foreign countries.
Juan Sebastian Elcano
Its 20 sails, when all set, cover a total sail area of 3,150 square metres and have helped carry the great ship across the Atlantic with the use of sail three times. When at full speed, it can sail at 17 knots.
The Juan Sebastian Elcano has full membership of the Sail Training Association, that includes most of the world’s tall ships used as training ships for their respective navy cadets or for the youth of their nations. The ship has won the Association’s Boston Teapot Trophy eight times. The trophy is awarded to the tall ship that covers the longest distance in any twenty four hour period . With only two major refits above its keel, and a still busy schedule, the Juan Sebastian Elcano is expected to remain a figure of maritime elegance for many years to come.
Painter of Armenian descent, he was born in Theodosia (now Feodosiya), Crimea, Ukraine. He become famous for his seascapes paintings, which make up most of his work.
He began his studies at an early age. At 16 he enrolled in the prestigious Art School of St. Petersburg, Russia, where he received direct instruction from Vorobyov, a specialist in landscape painting. He went also under the tutelage of French artist Tanner, who was dedicated to marine painting.
Venice from the Lagoon at Sunset
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
After graduation, Aivazovsky traveled to Italy to further develop his style.
Aivazovsky’s paintings of seascapes dazzled his European peers. In them his virtues can be appreciated in all its dimensions. He is a master in portraying the realistic motion and transparency of the waves and the magical color of heaven.
Some of his paintings are signed in Armenian letters, “Hovhannes Aivazian”.
Shipping in Stormy Seas, 1868
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
His talent as an artist earned him sponsorship and entry to the Academy of Arts of Saint Petersburg, where he graduated with the gold medal.
Before traveling throughout Europe, he painted a series of portraits of cities on the coast of Crimea, winning awards for his landscapes and seascapes.
Arrival Into Sebastopol Bay, 1852
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
Later on, his paintings of war scenes earned him a longstanding commission from the Russian Navy.
In 1845, invited by the of Sultan Abdul Mecid, Aivazovsky went to Istanbul, a city that he was to visit eight times between 1845-1890.
During his long stay in Istanbul, Aivazovsky was commissioned as a court painter for a series of portraits of Ottoman sultans, of which 30 are currently on display at the Dolmabahçe Palace and many others in various museums in Turkey.
The Rainbow
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
Because of its long life in art, Aivazovsky became the most prolific of his days. He left more than 6,000 works on his death in 1900.
With the funds raised during his successful career as an artist, he opened an art school and gallery in his hometown of Feodosiya.
Willem van de Velde the Younger (Leiden, December 18, 1633 – London, April 6, 1707) was a Dutch sea painter.
Son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, also a painter of seascapes, he learned from his father and later from Simon de Vlieger, a famous artist of the time. In 1673, the year he moved to England, he had already gained fame in his native country.
In London, King Charles II hired him to paint drawings and sketches of sea battles for a salary of 100 pounds a year. Part of his job was to color drawings by Willem the Elder, also hired in court. He is also commissioned by the Duke of York, later crowned as James II, and by several members of the nobility.
Dutch Shipping Offshore in a Rising Gale
Willem Van De, The Younger Velde
The most beautiful paintings of van de Velde are views out to sea from the Netherlands, showing Dutch ships. His best paintings are delicate, inspired, detailed and very accurate in describing the ships and their components. Many figures are introduced with great eloquence, and the artist successfully represents the sea, either calm or stormy.
Many of his works are now in museums around the world.
The remaining four-strong Volvo Ocean sailing fleet is edging its way to Miami with no serious weather issues except unpredictable light wind areas that could change the positioning of the fleet in just a manner of a few hours.
Once in Miami there is still the North Atlantic to cross before they reach their final destination in Galway, Ireland, in July.
With no more than 300 miles to the completion in Miami of Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean race, “Camper” was today praying that the battle for the lead position was now only to be fought out between “Puma” and themselves due to a sixty-mile gap now evident between “Telefónica” and “Groupama”.
Diamond Head Yacht in Swiftsure Race
Ray Krantz
Yann Riou, on Groupama, said that they were expecting to take third place in this leg due to the fact that the leaders are now too far ahead to catch.
Camper was around eleven miles behind Puma at seven o’clock this morning Universal Coordinated Time as the yacht just passed on the eastern side of the islands of the Bahamas, and as the winds have increased a little their boat speeds are now reaching ten knots, the leaders were offered a sigh of relief from when they realised Groupama was not advancing rapidly enough..
But after they watched Telefónica lose speed after unfortunately sailing slowly through a windless hole, Team New Zealand crew member on Camper, Hamish Hooper, stated that the team was fully conscious of any possible eventuality in the last few days of the leg.
They are now just hopeful that this sector of the journey has now reverted into a yacht race for two, but when Telefónica dropped a lot of miles the previous night, there is no certainty until the crossing of the finish line, which is expected to be still 48 hours away.
The final route into Miami is full of obstacles. There are areas where light wind predominates and there are islands to work around as well as the increasing amount of algae adhering to the hulls.
Just the eleven-mile lead is not quite enough to quell the nerves on Puma Ocean Racing which is powered along by Berg.
He said that with around 350 miles to the finishing line it would be easy to sit back and forget the distance ahead but no one appears to be making that fatal mistake.
The mind has to be set and that is that every mile is as crucial as the mile ahead. Do not think you have conquered the horizon, as the race is still a long way off finishing.
Telefónica was positioned sixty six nautical miles behind Puma at 7 ‘o’ clock, having lost 8 miles between reported positions and these were the two quickest boats in the sailing fleet, together with Groupama, averaging a speed of around 11 knots.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing was fast approaching, at less than 40 miles behind, and averaging just a little over 7 knots.
The unfortunate arrival of lighter winds in this leg has meant that some crews have suffered from food shortages. It is often critical in races like the Volvo Ocean that the gross weight of the vessel is kept to the bare minimum, which means strategically accounting for every kilogramme on board for the duration of the race.
Philip Plisson is a French marine photographer specialized in the sea, boats, landscapes and people.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in January 1947 on the banks of the Loire (France), his life and work have always been related to the sea. Not surprisingly his father was the founder and president of the Yacht Club ‘Cercle de la Voile’ in Orleans, and he started sailing at the age of 7. When he was 9 his grandmother gave him an Ultra-Flex camera that helped him discover his passion for photography. He spent the summer of 1956 photographing yachts from his own boat.
Kereon
Philip Plisson
Nevertheless, Philip became a photographer on land. It would be in 1974 when he decided to make a living from photography, with the help of his wife Marie-Brigitte (whom he married four years earlier). In the 80′s his dream of making a living from his two passions, the sea and photography, came true.
Sauvetage en Mer
Philip Plisson
Between 1982 and 1990 the stories about Philip multiplied in the world of sailing and the press, taking part in events like the America’s Cup, while participating in advertising campaigns for major owners of the marine industry. He opened his first gallery (11 m2) in 1988. Today, the group “Plisson La Trinidad” employs forty people, and it produces nearly 500 000 images per year. Philip was named Artist of the Navy in 1991 by the French Defense Ministry, presenting his work to over 51,000 visitors.
Belem
Philip Plisson
HONORS RECEIVED
1991 “Peintre de la Marine” – Painter of the Navy (France).
1994 Silver Medal for Tourism (France).
1997 Knight of the Order of Marine Merit.
1999 Silver Medal from the National Sea Rescue Society, for services rendered to the rescue at sea.
2001 Gold Medal for Tourism, for his work in Britain.
2003 Named Person of the Sea, by the Principality of Monaco.
2004 Named Knight of the Legion of Honor.
2006 Promoted to the rank of Officer of the Order of Marine Merit.
2008 Promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader Reserve Citizen of the Gendarmerie within the Republican Guard.
Mariquita and Mariette
Philip Plisson
LITERARY AWARDS
1992 Foundation Award “Pays de France” for his book “Britain between sky and sea”.
1993 Sea Circle Award, for his “Images of Fisherman”.
1994 Naval Academy Award for the book “Brittany, land of the Sea”.
2005 1st Prize awarded at the third annual Night of Books and Printing “fog lights”.
2008 Winner of the Literary Award of the Gendarmerie for “The Republican Guard.”
Avis de Coup de Vent sur les Poulains
Philip Plisson
GENRE
All his work speaks of a fundamental subjet: The Sea. His photography is mainly related to water and nature, in which, as discussed before, he has been involved from an early age. As for the genders in which he works, they are very diverse:
Reports of nature. It’s the genre in which most of his work has been done, having to his credit stunning images that show the greatness and strength of the sea.
Ireland
Philip Plisson
Events. He has worked on major sporting events related to the sea or water: sailing, surfing, rafting …
Photojournalism. Always related to the same subject, he has also captured stunning scenes to show reality through his camera.
Regates Royales
Philip Plisson
Advertising photography. He has worked mainly for various shipping companies, although perhaps we should classify it as industrial photography. We could also categorize some of his works as documentary photography, having done extensive reporting on a specific subject for specialized publications.
Pen Duick
Philip Plisson
Aesthetic and style: Plisson shows the sea in all its possible forms: big waves, calm waters, landscapes story … and from different perspectives: aerial photography, ground, aboard ship … he is passionate about all that the sea holds and this fact is reflected in his work, allowing us to get involved in it from very different point of views, sometimes making us feel the loneliness of a sailor, and others the grandeur of nature through the shimmering sea.
Always showing the blue sea in the background he reveals the great buildings that cover the coast, lighthouses that illuminate in the dark, the impossible shapes of coral reefs, the soft sand of the beach, sunsets that we wish would last forever, solid oil platforms in the middle of the ocean, the consequences of the unstoppable force of the water …
Saint-Val??ry-en-Caux
Philip Plisson
Bearing in mind that his is mostly nature photography, he plays with light and contrast in his work to show the beauty of the sea. Having traveled around the world with his camera, he shows us the different customs of sailors, and explains through his images their different ways of working. In his industrial photos he shows us the imposing shipbuilding constructions, and the meticulous detail with which small pleasure craft are cared for. He plays with the image based on what he wants to communicate through it, something that he achieves thanks to the great knowledge he has of the sea, seafaring customs and different boats.
Considered by many as the greatest painter of the sea in the 20th century, and one of the most skilled craftsmen in the line of the British marine artists, Montague Dawson is known for his beautiful clipper ships, emerging from the waves and gliding majestically under the sky. In his paintings, the ships and the elements become one, together in a harmony of movement and color that reflect an astonishing reality.
Dawson was born in Chiswick, England, son of a Thames sailing enthusiast, and grandson of the famous English landscape painter Henry Dawson. Early in life he moved to Southampton where he spent his free time fishing, sailing and admiring the world’s largest ships during their port call. He served as a naval officer during World War I, where he met English artist C. Napier Hemy who’s influence on him was such that he spend the rest of his life devoted to painting and professional illustration.
Wind and Sun
Montague Dawson
Much of the work of Montague Dawson is divided into various private collections as well as important museums around the world. His reputation as “the king of Clipper Ship School ” has reached all corners of the planet. Close to the end of his days, only Picasso was paid higher for his work. He was one of a kind, whose style and genius we might never see again.
Montague Dawson. The Flying Cloud
With the original paintings reaching ever higher prices, today we can enjoy Montague Dawson’s fascinating work as an affordable gouttelette® print on paper. An exclusive digital printing process combining new technology with the traditional expertise of craftsmen which creates a unique fidelity to the original.
If you have ever wanted to sail alone in a small boat around South Africa, then Stig Lundvall’s story of life adrift on the ocean without a mast in a small yacht just might keep you on land.
Lundvall, a 66 year old Swedish sailor left Falmouth in England in July last year apparently “on the way to Australia or New Zealand”. Now, that is a fair way to go by plane, but alone in an 8 metre yacht is epic stuff.
Lundvall was not heard of again until picked up by a Greek ship off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in April this year. The rescue coordination centres of at least four countries had been on the alert for him since a friend had contacted them in February worried about his whereabouts.
It appears that he set sail from England in his small yacht with only a VHF radio and a few flares. He expected to get to Australia in February so his lack of communication sparked the enquiry to the rescue centres in South Africa, Reunion, Australia and New Zealand, through whose waters he might have been expected to pass.
Most people who set off in small yachts have a long range high frequency radio they can use to contact shore stations, get weather updates and even send emails to and fro on a regular basis. They also normally have an emergency position indicating beacon, or epirb, which can be set off if there is an emergency. All modern epirbs are registered with the ship’s name and owner and transmit information directly by satellite giving the exact position where the emergency is taking place.
Sailboat Adrift at Sunset, Sri Lanka
Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures
It is still not known why Mr Lundvall decided to take off without adequate safety equipment.
He apparently hit an unexpectedly bad storm several hundred miles from Durban after already passing the two notorious capes off Southern Africa – the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas.
The storm lashed the yacht in the middle of the night and it lost its mast. Without this, Lundvall was unable to sail and the little yacht was at the mercy of the sea and the currents.
The next eighty days saw the sailor drift around in circles, with an ever diminishing supply of water and other supplies. He did manage to get a jury rig organized after quite a struggle, but it was unable to help propel the boat in the direction of Durban or Richards Bay, the two closest safe ports.
With his mast down, his VHF radio was also inoperable, leaving him with only the few flares to alert any passing ship of his plight.
This he did twice with no success, and he was at low ebb, having lost nearly twenty kilos when he was able to attract the attention of the third ship that he saw with his very last flare.
He said that he was pretty amazed to see the huge ship slow down, then stop as he was almost about to give up hope. The Greek registered ship plucked him off the yacht and took him to Cape Town.
Back on dry land in his home town of Västerås, west of Stockholm, he admitted that he felt as if he was walking like a drunk still and would take quite some time to regain both his normal weight and health.
When asked whether he would take off on the water again, he said that he would, but wouldn’t try to cross another ocean!
With an ultramodern looking skyline it’s very easy to forget that Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, was once a small town of Bedouin traders. Today, the old is mixed with the new: At the Nad al Sheba racetrack, camels race by day thoroughbreds at night. Fashion stores and electronics as successful as the gold souk. A sample of more than 400 restaurants gives you a taste of Dubai’s ethnic diversity. Enjoy the beaches, golf, historic sites, nightlife and renowned tax-free shopping of Dubai.
It is a fascinating blend of contrasts, East and West, modernity and desert. It offers superb facilities for sport and fun, such as the theme park Dubailand, endless beaches, golf courses, safaris, …
Dubai’s culture is tied to the Arab tradition, but foreigners are very welcome. There is also a high degree of tolerance, there is total freedom of religion and alcohol is served freely in all hotels. Even the Western dress is widespread. It’s greatest expressions are poetry, dance and local art.
Atlantis, The Palm. Dubai
Dubai enjoys an ideal climate and offers a broad range of excursions, from a visit to the Creek, a channel which divides the city into two, to the souks, the house of Sheikh Saeed, Al Ahmadu IEH or famous desert safaris, in addition to visits to neighboring emirates. The temperature varies from a low of 10 ° C to 48 ° C. The mean daily minimum is 24 º C in January, with a highest of 41ºC in August.
In Dubai there are many restaurants offering a wide variety of cuisine from around the world. There are hundreds of restaurants scattered throughout the city, apart from the extensive collection of bars and pubs.
Other major attraction of Dubai is shopping, thanks in part to its favorable tax system. Modern shopping centers with hundreds of shops in buildings with cutting-edge designs are alternative shopping in traditional souks.
Atlantis, the Palm is the perfect place to stay during your Holidays in Dubai. Located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah’s Crescent, it extends over an area of 4000 square meters which constitutes the largest open-air marine habitat in the Middle East.
Yachts have for nearly a hundred years existed as havens for pleasure seekers who often resided in the richest countries. This, despite the ups and downs of economies, is changing.
The yacht-owning class is expanding in India at a surprisingly rapid rate, where 150 of the vessels can be now viewed moored in Mumbai. It is not too long ago that sailing dhows frequented these waters, plying the coast from Kochi to Mumbai, but the aim was to move cargo not to be sailed by people at leisure. The sails of these iconic craft have now been replaced by diesel engines.
Most of those who are interested in purchasing a yacht want to share it with family and friends in places that are removed from city pollution where they can wile away a weekend break from busy city life.
One recent proud owner, Balachandar, who bought his yacht in Croatia said he owned a sailing dinghy for three years but it was too small to share it with family and friends.
A Goa resident bought an 11-metre vessel, which he uses for coastal fishing trips with his friends and relaxes in the backwaters of Goa. However, the most resplendent yacht in Goa is businessman Chetan Timblo’s, which at 37 metres is used to make passages to the Maldives every year.
In Kochi, Jose Thomas, a well-known businessman, bought a yacht, because he loves the water.
Dhow Sailboats Glide and Race across …
Maggie Steber
If you don’t have the money for a yacht, there is another choice and that is to charter one. Increasingly, in the coastal cities of India at $100 for an afternoon weekend charter, this is becoming a popular pastime for those who have a modest income.
In spite of its extensive coastline, this rapidly expanding yachting culture is restricted by the few facilities that are available to accommodate yachts securely. Mumbai might be India’s yachting capital, but it has no marina or port facility for the use of pleasure boats.
Off-Loading Cargo from Dhows from Zan…
Nigel Pavitt
There is now a marina outside the hotel on Bolgatty island in Kochi but it is not well used, as the abundance of safe, sheltered havens in Kochi’s backwaters offer plenty of possibilities to moor a boat in safety. This is not the case in Chennai, which has no placid inland waterways, and the yacht craving has been put on hold until the government agrees to put in a marina. A similar situation is present in Goa, where pressure is being put on the Government as well.
Aerial Shot of a Dhow Sailing in Turq…
Michael Polzia
Established in 2010, the Kochi Marina is the only marina facility in the country but the berths remain empty as the usual run of transient international yachts sailing from SE Asia to the Mediterranean has been put on hold due to the dangers of piracy in the region and yacht owners are favouring shipping their boats on a freighter rather than risking life and limb by sailing into the arms of pirates.
Optimism is still running high for the enthusiasts who say it will not be long before going out on the sea becomes as popular as driving, particularly as yachting is no longer the domain of millionaires.
April 22nd, 2012 by Alison Williams. Posted in Boating
New Zealand’s Aqueduct marina is now well into the dim distant past as Team New Zealand’s yacht Camper will now not have much time to prepare for the racing schedule in its next official stopover in Itajai in Brazil this coming week.
Sailing conditions have been good for the team of yachtsmen in the last twenty four hour period of the round the world Volvo Ocean Race, and they have only 500 miles left before the finishing line with a good weather forecast predicted for the remaining sail to Itajai.
The yacht had to make an unscheduled stop in Chile for four days after the beating and pounding in the waves and swell inflicted hull damage to the racer which could only be rectified by an around the clock work schedule at Puerto Montt in Chile.
Under official racing rules, Camper had to return to the position where racing was promptly put on hold a few days earlier before it could officially resume.
The expected time at the finish line for Camper in Brazil is on the 17th April late in the day and they will be placed fourth after Groupama, Puma and Telefonica who will have just finished the leg. Abu Dhabi along with Team Sanya have had to withdraw.
Captain Chris Nicholson said the yachtsmen would be in Itajai on schedule but there would be little time to undertake any sightseeing.
He admitted that they would barely have a day to spare in Itajai, which would just be enough time to get spruced up ready for the racing schedule.
The damage and repair to the boat earlier in the leg has meant they have had to work hard to get where they are now.
Chris said the struggle would at least earn them fourth place and they would get some points for it, which would be a just reward for the great effort put in by all of the team.
The leg of the journey is quite a marathon with a month having gone by since leaving Auckland and only two full days of particularly unkind weather, which is good for the time of year.
The expected 20 knots of favourable winds will mean they will be running for most of the rest of the passage. Nearing arrival, they are expecting the wind to die away but are hoping for a sea breeze to get them into port at Itajai on April 17.
There is no monetary prize for being first past the post in the 37,000 mile around the world race but the overall winner of the 2011-2012 race will be honoured with a fine trophy that was unveiled in November 2010. It has been designed in honour of the race, which is in its 37th year and will be completed in Galway in July 2012.
When the Ryou-Un Maru slowly slipped across the North Pacific Ocean and appeared to endanger the Alaskan coastline the other day, the response from the US Coast Guard was to blow up while it still floated in deep, ocean water.
The ship, a deep sea fishing vessel, destined for the scrap yard was close to the centre of the Japanese tsunami that struck the North Eastern coast of Japan about a year ago, causing reverberations and controversy in its wake.
The ship was set adrift, with about five million tonnes of other rubbish and flotsam, and was slowly blown across the sea towards the US and Canadian Western coastline. With nobody aboard, but unknown cargo and 4000 litres of diesel oil still in its tanks, it was a veritable “ghost ship.”
The great natural disasters like tsunamis and cyclones or hurricanes, are some of the maritime industry’s greatest modern day dreads, damaging more ships and smaller craft than any human activity, including war.
Fortunately, in many cases, communications and forecasting help to provide sufficient forewarning of some of the worst natural events. The dozens of pearl luggers that were swept ashore in Australia’s 1899 Cyclone Mahina knew nothing of the great storm that bore down on them, ultimately killing 400 or more seamen. Similarly, it was the lack of a proper tsunami warning system that led to the destruction of hundreds of boats, mostly small fishing boats, which were lost in the 2004 “Boxing Day” tsunami that originated deep below the sea off the coast of Sumatra.
Even modern yachts were caught unawares in the latter event, despite their ultra modern radios and on board email systems. In Thailand’s marinas and sculpted bays and islands, even as far as Malaysia, dozens of yachts were trapped by the triple whammy of great waves that engulfed the Andaman coast.
The only warning that some people had was when the water suddenly retreated, as if the tide was going out. Twenty minutes later, the first of the three large tsunami waves reared up as it approached the coast at speeds of up to 400 kilometres an hour.
In some ways, boats and ships have better luck than those on land when a tsunami strikes. As long as there is sufficient warning, these craft can put to sea. Tsunami waves are only dangerous in shallow water. Strange as it seems, even a large tsunami like the 2004 event only causes an almost imperceptible gentle rise and fall for a boat floating in deep water.
The Pacific Ocean has had a good tsunami warning system for quite some time. It is a boon for boats and ships as long as they are far enough from the epicentre of the earthquake that triggers the waves.
No such good luck for those that are too close, as no warning can ever be long enough when within the range of a nearby tsunami. Such was the fate of the Ryou–Un Maru and many other boats like it in last year’s Japanese tsunami.
Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons – they are all the same thing, but are given different names, depending on the area that these tropical storms are experienced. The correct meteorological term is a “tropical revolving storm” and can exert its malevolent influence anywhere within the tropics, normally in the hotter, wetter summer months of the western sides of all the great oceans.
These storms can now be predicted with reasonable accuracy, their origins within oceanic thunderstorm complexes and their evolution into deadly systems tracked with the aid of satellites and a legion of weather instruments.
They are now not much of a hazard for large, ocean going commercial ships, more of a nuisance than a danger, as the forecasting service is able to allow a change of plan or route.
Smaller fishing boats, commercial ferries, trading boats and pleasure boats can take shelter, given adequate forecast, but some cyclones are still so powerful that even the best forecasting system can not avoid total destruction.
Cyclone Yasi, last year’s East Australian category 5 storm, blew home close to the 1899 Mahina and caused death and destruction wherever it struck. In one marina, in one of Australia’s most sheltered areas, in what had been thought to be a “cyclone hole”, a hundred pleasure boats were thrown across the water in the cyclone’s storm surge and smashed against the shore like matchsticks.
While the size of cargo ships seems to be getting larger and larger each decade, with the advantages that brings in terms of economies of scale, the ports and handling facilities often find it difficult to keep pace.
Some evidence of this is that the very largest of the cargo ships that have been built over the last ten years are now far too big to even get through one or other of those famous distance and time saving canals, like the Suez and the Panama.
Just recently, a huge Korean built ship, owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, called the “Fabiola”, docked at the Port of Long Beach, dwarfing the port installation and becoming the very largest ship to have ever docked in either North or South America.
Anybody watching the giant making its way slowly into port on the morning of its arrival could be forgiven for thinking that a huge unnatural island had just arrived.
The spatial figures are indeed awesome. The ship is as long as the Empire State Building, as wide as a ten lane Californian freeway and can carry up to 12,000 containers at any one time.
Although this sort of size is now favoured by many of the world’s shipping companies, the ports and canals are lagging behind in infrastructural support. The Panama Canal is currently undergoing modifications so that the very largest of container ships or bulk tankers will be able to fit through its locks, but the work will take at least two more years to complete and who knows what will be the length of the very largest of ships by then!
Few harbours or ports anywhere in the Americas – North or South – are capable of handling these giants because their wharves are either too short or the approach is too shallow. These huge ships represent a valuable catch for any port that undergoes modifications that will allow it to handle them. There are several ports up and down the Americas that are frantically trying to get their act together.
At present, the twin West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are getting the lion’s share of the trade that these giants bring.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company now has 43 mega sized ships amongst its 484 strong fleet. The company’s commercial fleet is more extensive than that of the US Navy.
It is not just port facilities that are inadequate at present. The huge ships need careful pilotage. For the Long beach docking of the “Fabiola”, the century old family run Jacobsen Pilot Service, which handles all of the Long Beach arrivals, had to have special training on a simulator in San Francisco so that they could practise the manouevres needed to safely bring the giant into dock. The docking also needed the coordination of three tug boats which were used to deftly turn the huge boat around in the entry channel and guide it past several shallow water patches and shoals on either side of the fairway.
Jacobsens were reportedly said that the arrival of the “Fabiola” is just the beginning and they expect to have many more huge visitors arrive in the near future.
The City of Adelaide is not the city of that name but the oldest known clipper ship still in existence in the world. It is actually 5 years older than the Cutty Sark.
In its heyday, it transported emigrants seeking riches overseas, from the northern reaches of Scotland to the southernmost continent of Australia. It has been estimated that one quarter of a million of Australia’s ancestors sailed as passengers on the City of Adelaide.
After many years rotting at a Scottish boatyard and 150 years since she was built, her fate has finally been decided. Now, she is being prepared for her final voyage back to Australia. The intention is to fully restore her and she will then become the focal point of maritime history in the Port of Adelaide. The total cost of the project will exceed ten million pounds.
Wind and Sun
Montague Dawson
She is certainly in no condition to sail to Australia so a massive cradle is being constructed in Irvine. The clipper was launched in 1864 in Sunderland. It sailed 10,000-mile voyages between the two countries for nearly 25 years, but her sailing days have long gone as her last ocean voyage was in 1893.
At one point, the 53-metre ship was bought by Southampton council after a cholera outbreak and was used as an isolation hospital for infectious victims.
Later, in 1924, it was turned into a training ship at Irvine in Scotland, and a name change to HMS Carrick followed, however, unfortunately, in 1991, it sank in Glasgow and remained in Davy Jones’ Locker until it was salvaged by the Scottish Maritime Museum.
There has been much debate over its fate with some wanting it to return to Sunderland to its birthplace but in the end, the owners decided, after much soul searching, that interested parties in Adelaide would be the new owners and restorers. The view being that in earlier days there was a strong association between South Australia and this link will prevail and be reinforced once the City of Adelaide has been restored and put on show.
The City of Adelaide is certainly no lightweight as metalworking engineers in Australia have now built a unique cradle designed to carry 100 tonnes and with a cost of almost three quarters of a million pounds.
Belem
Philip Plisson
The hope is that the aging clipper will not crumble when it is slid into the cradle but the cradle is going to be thoroughly checked by Lloyds of London inspectors before the ordeal of fitting the City of Adelaide into it. Interestingly, twenty different locations in Australia were used to construct the cradle so bringing it altogether in Irvine will most certainly be a test of cooperation. The designers all from Australia will be overseeing the whole project.
The final date of the whole procedure has not been finalised yet as there are still some final checks to be made along with the necessity for the right tide.
The annual yacht migration from South East Asia through the Gulf of Aden and on to the Mediterranean does not have many takers this year as the notorious pirate ally along the sea route via the Gulf of Aden remains a constant threat to any seagoing vessel.
Many vessels remain in ports scattered throughout the Asian region or foot the hefty bill to load onto a container ship for a safe transit to the Med. However, Turanor PlanetSolar, the biggest solar-powered boat on earth and attempting to be the first to complete a solar or sun assisted circumnavigation has just conquered this, the most dangerous stretch of water from a pirate point of view, and is well on its way home.
“Thoughts of Home” Saturd…
Norman Rockwell
Turanor is a specially equipped catamaran that is powered entirely through its hundreds of solar panels. The power stored in its batteries can keep it going for about three days if the sun becomes hidden by clouds and allows the boat to move at about 7 knots. As pirate skiffs can skoot along at about 20 knots, the solar boat could be a sitting duck, even if it had full power.
It seems they had been quite aware since 2006 that this part of their journey would be the deciding factor in the completion of their epic trip around the globe – the first by any solar powered vessel. As they approached the Arabian Sea just a few weeks ago and on arrival in Abu Dhabi they realised that they would have to seriously prepare Turanor Planet Solar if they wanted to get through unscathed. Solar boats do not have the same speed as big ships or even sail driven yachts if extra effort is required to escape the clutches of pirate kidnappings.
In the end, they decided that they would have to employ an armed security team to maintain a 24 hour security watch as they manoeuvred through the 1800 nautical mile area. On board were six ex soldiers from the French Army. However, this was not enough for them, as they also surrounded the perimeter of the boat with barbed wire to evade boarding pirates.
Once on the journey, they moved at night unlit, as they not only did not want to be seen but they also had to maintain a reserve of battery power in case they had to move faster in order to evade any potential attack. Two armed men were steadfastly on duty night and day scanning the horizon for potential threats.
They could have risked arrest if they had not remained a reasonable distance off the coast of Oman and Yemen, as armed ships are not permitted in the waters of these two countries.
However, the heavily guarded Turanor did have one suspected encounter with a pirate skiff and that was on 16th February. Fortunately for them, the boat turned away when they saw the well armed security men positioned around the boat.
It took Turanor 20 days to navigate the pirate infested water between Abu Dhabi and Djibouti and their current position is now abeam of the Egyptian coast heading slowly northwards in to the reaches of the Suez Canal and back home to the Med. Monte Carlo is their final destination. They have so far covered 55,379 kilometres in 330 days and they do not have too far to go to achieve the prize of the first solar boat to circumnavigate the Earth.
The Volvo Ocean Race, which commenced at Alicante in Spain on 29th October, is now steaming towards Auckland, New Zealand a city that is often dubbed the “City of Sails.” It is has been long well known for its insatiable fascination with vessels both small and large that sail into its waters each year from far and wide.
This time it is the turn of the million dollar round the world Volvo Ocean racing fleet. It is common for countries and cities on the main world ocean sail racing routes to vie to gain the monopoly of hosting such economically geared events. This time Auckland won the bid.
Puma During In-Port Race 1, Alicante,…
Rick Tomlinson
The city of 1.5 million will certainly not be short of spectators as the heat is building and Auckland is holding its steamy breath, as it prepares for the opening of the Race Village on Thursday. Time is closing in for the arrival of the tiny fleet of six yachts that will have descended on the city at the close of this week.
The showpiece of the Race Village will be the celebrities of the Volvo Ocean Race, the huge 70 foot Volvo Open 70 racing yachts and the crews that go with them that have, up to now, raced more than 23,000 nautical miles transiting the world’s roughest and toughest oceans from Alicante through to Auckland.
The Race Village, staged at the Viaduct Harbour super yacht base will be opening for business at 9am this Thursday, initiating ten days of festivities heralding the Volvo Ocean Race’s homecoming for Camper Emirates New Zealand as it enters the City of Sails and the finishing point of Stage 4 of the race. The first Chinese yacht to enter such a challenging event, Team Sanya, will be lining up with six in the Viaduct as well.
Passenger Ferries Churn Across Sydney…
Annie Griffiths
Normally, the port activities of racing yacht crews are shielded from the public eye but visitors, this time, will have the chance to observe the teams doing their daily chores at close range, as the group of designers and master boat builders will work in front of the public eye.
The Race Village is also offering the Volvo Ocean Race event an interactive draw card attempting to seduce us who prefer the land into the small watery world of a Volvo Ocean Race sailor through its 3 dimensional cinema, simulated presentations and displays and winch grinding confrontations.
Auckland Cbd, Skytower and Waitemata …
David Wall
The events manager Johnny Donelly said there is such a huge variety of events taking place at the Race Village that there is something for just about everybody.
With still almost 18,000 nautical miles to the finish line, the fleet is set to depart the City of Sails on the 18th March heading for Itajal on the Brazilian coast and then onto Miami and across the Atlantic finishing up in Galway, Ireland on the 8th July. There are still some rough and tough seas for crews to cross yet, before relaxing in the European summer.
Marine navigation all over the world has increasingly become reliant on global positioning systems or GPS for short, and its Russian, European and Chinese equivalents. So much so, that it would be hard to imagine the vast number of commercial vessels, let alone smaller fishing and pleasure boats being able to go anywhere on the sea without their GPS system working properly.
However, reports are now coming in which point to an increasing and very real risk to GPS systems and therefore, the whole of marine navigation by “jammers” and “spoofers” who, for a small cost, are able to upset the way in which satellite positioning is received and processed.
GPS is a more sophisticated version of earlier satellite navigation (satnav) systems that surfaced in the nineteen seventies. It had its origin in the US military’s need to deploy “seek and destroy” cruise missiles that could locate and blow up an enemy target using a GPS aided detection system buried in their nose cones. The US military kindly allowed its many orbiting position indicating satellites to be used by civilian devices. These were quickly developed for use at sea and, a little later, adapted for widespread use on land as well. From the tiniest fishing dinghy to the largest oil tanker, from family cars to taxis and buses, and from gliders to passenger aeroplanes, the GPS system lets people know wherever they are on the surface of the planet.
In the early days of GPS, the system was used with some caution and mariners still learnt the traditional craft of navigation with compass and sextant. The fear was that the US military would switch off the signal from the satellites in the event of perceived conflict, making all navigation immediately inoperable. The fears were, for the most part, unrealised. Apart from a few scares, no collisions or shipwrecks are known so far to have been caused by a disappearing signal, although many vessels have gone aground or sunk as a result of too heavy a dependence on electronic GPS navigation without the use of a corresponding use of common sense.
Now the danger lies in simple technology which apparently almost anybody with a head for electronic communication coupled with a few hundred euros could devise or simply buy online.
“Jammers” are already widely available on the internet and can be bought quite legally, although their use is illegal. Pranksters and gangsters alike have used these jammers to disrupt navigation systems at airports and on busy highways. Criminals have been known to use jammers to deliberately disrupt the GPS systems in trucks in order to be able to hold them up for their valuable contents.
Henry the Navigator at th…
C.l. Doughty
Some jammers have much more signal strength than the low level signals emanating from orbiting satellites. A research experiment in the English Channel in 2010 used a low level jammer and discovered that it had remarkable effects on ships traversing the busy waterway between France and England. Reports came in of ships veering suddenly off course from the use of the jammer. Most commercial ships use an automated system to link their GPS with their steering by autopilot, so jammers can potentially have a devastating effect.
Perhaps more potentially dangerous than jammers are the “spoofers”. These are able to create a false GPS signal that can be used to fool anybody reliant on GPS to provide accurate time and location. The technology that makes spoofing possible has only just become available and is not yet widespread, but reports indicate that the components to construct a home made spoofer would cost less than a thousand euros.
Spoofers could be used in all sorts of devious ways to create false positions for illegal fishing boats and even motorists who want to evade fines from traffic infringements to havoc, even in the financial world. Stock exchanges depend now on precise timing for the exchange of stock.
Although, no serious incidents have yet been ascribed to the use of spoofers, an Iranian engineer is reported to have claimed that a US spy drone had been brought down over Iran by a home made spoofer. The report has yet to be confirmed but experts in the field say that is “in the realms of possibility and that is the scary part of the story.”
Whales, back from the brink of extinction in the last two decades, seem to be facing another seaborne danger: this time from accidental noise pollution caused by the low humming of ships’ engines and the whirring of propellers.
It has been thought for some time that large baleen whales in particular – the whales that feed on krill, like blue, minke and humpback whales – have a communication system that uses sound at, or similar to, the frequency of that emanating from the engines and propellers of large ships. The number of whales suffering from direct surface collision or entanglement in fishing nets has also been a source of concern, but the amount of statistical evidence of the effects of shipping noise has until recently been absent.
A diver has a close encounter wih a s…
Brian J. Skerry
One aspect of whale communication has been revealed by biologists’ research which lends some credulity to the noise pollution idea: this is the finding that large whales like Northern Right Whales and Humpback whales make low pitched sounds that can travel and be heard up to two hundred kilometres away from the whale making the sound. It is not known exactly why whales do this. Speculation has centred on the possibility that whales locate and communicate with potential mates and keep in contact with an extended social group through these sorts of vocalisations.
It is also known that male Humpback whales, in particular, use extensive and varied songs in order to court females. These songs can be heard a very long distance away and no doubt this helps a species in which the individuals are widely spaced out across the vastness of the ocean.
A survey done immediately before and after the 9 / 11 Al Qaeda inspired massacre in New York also points towards the effects of shipping. A whale research group was inadvertently taking samples of whale faeces floating on the surface of the ocean off the North Eastern seaboard of the USA on a regular basis before the attacks on the Twin Towers. By analysing faecal composition, traces of a hormone released by the whales showed the extent of their distress. Just after the attack, all shipping stopped for a short period. The researchers found that the distress signals being given off by whales during this “quiet” period were significantly less than normal, indicating that whales suffered less when the oceans were free of shipping noises. The group could not adequately explain the reduction for any other reason.
Flight
Bob Talbot
More disturbingly, research from whale scientists seems to show that the overall distress levels seem to be slowly rising from whales and this might be associated with the overall increase in the amount of shipping traffic.
The hormones that have been monitored are similar to those in humans that help us to get ready for the “fight or flight” response. This is totally natural, but when the levels of the hormone build up in an animal’s (or a person’s) body it can have detrimental effects on the animal’s health and well being, lowering the ability of the immune system to respond as well as leading to stunted growth and a reduction in reproductive performance.
Humpback Whale and Calf, …
Amos Nachoum
Whale researchers say that additional sounds in the maritime environment, like sonar devices being let off during oil exploration and torpedo releases during navy exercises, also contribute to levels of extraneous and potentially damaging sound in the depths of the ocean.
North American Marine Wil…
Contrary to what people might think, sound travels extraordinarily well through water, being transmitted many times faster than through air.
Whales use sound to communicate with their fellow creatures as well as to navigate and search for food.
It has recently been announced that the tall ship “Tenacious”, will be taking part in the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee on the 3rd June on the River Thames in London. The ship is quite unusual as it has been specially designed and constructed to be operated and sailed by a mixed gender crew of physically able and disabled individuals, including those who are users of wheelchairs.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust which operates “Tenacious” will be amongst a flotilla of 1000 vessels making up the biggest assembly of boats on the river Thames in recent times. The “Tenacious” will be accompanied by rowing boats, work boats and recreational craft of all makes, forms, and sizes. They will all be brilliantly attired with flowing, colourful bunting and Union Jacks. The contingent will be spread out over approximately twenty five kilometres.
Approaching London
Trey Ratcliff
“Tenacious” is 65 metres in length and will be one of the biggest vessels to take part and will make up part of an avenue of sails that the smaller boats will pass through, as they make their way up the Thames.
All the people who have a relationship with the Jubilee Sailing Trust are extremely happy that “Tenacious” has been chosen to be a part of the Diamond Jubilee. CEO Alex Lochrane commented that the trust came into being in 1978 and was partly financed by money from funds provided by the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and so the trust was eager for “Tenacious” to be a representative of this heritage and become a part of the Diamond Jubilee festivities some thirty four years later. It signified a lot to them to be given the opportunity to provide support for this royal occasion with this stunning tall ship.
“Tenacious” and “”Lord Nelson”, the second ship administered by the trust, are just two tall ships from around the world that have been designed and built for both physically able and disabled individuals to be given the opportunity to experience sailing alongside one another as equals.
Throughout the thirty four years of existence, the Trust has been able to take more than 35,000 people out to sea to engage in a life altering experience. More than 13,000 were classified as disabled, which included 5,000 who needed the assistance of a wheelchair.
Queen Elizabeth II
One of the crew members, who will be on board throughout the spectacle, is Nick Pilgrim who is forty years old. Nick was unfortunate to contract meningitis when he was at nautical school learning to take up a maritime career. He thought he may never have the opportunity to go out to sea ever again. However, twenty five years ago he was initiated into the Jubilee Sailing Trust.
A Tall Ship in the Lower Reaches of t…
John S. Smith
As the years have passed he has completed nearly 60 sailing voyages with the assistance of the Trust, which has included crossings of the Atlantic, and he has sailed a total number of nautical miles that would be equivalent to circumnavigating the world twice.
Tower Bridge and River Thames at Nigh…
Richard I’Anson
Nick, alongside other disabled and physically able members of the crew will humbly take their position aboard Tenacious in the fleet next to the Queen and members of the her family who will be seated on the “Spirit of Chartwell”, a barge assigned to the Royal Family.
February 7th, 2012 by Alison Williams. Posted in Maritime News and Events
Anybody flying from Europe to the Caribbean islands, with a sharp eye out on the vast blue ocean beneath, over the last few weeks might have seen something more than a little strange.
For sure, the odd container ship or oil tanker would definitely have been over flown as well as the bright, white sails of a yacht or the splash from a pod of dolphins or pilot whales. But none of this fits into the category of strange.
The winter season is the “safe” time of year for small boats of all sorts to make the passage from East to West into the tropics from the African mainland or the Canary Islands. Nearly all of these small boats are yachts making the annual migration to sunshine and swaying palm trees, following in the wake of Columbus, who made the passage over five hundred years ago, but these days more than just yachts are plying these waters.
It has become an annual tradition for eccentrics and athletes alike, in anything from beer barrels to kayaks and rowing boats, to try their luck at crossing the Atlantic. These men and women are almost always completing the journey to break a world record or are trying to raise money for a worthy charity.
What make the attempts plausible are the prevailing winds that sweep down the African coast from the shores of Spain and Portugal southwards passing the Canaries and taking anything on the surface of the water towards the equator. A little further south, off the coast of Mauritania, the wind starts to curve towards the Caribbean and becomes the famous trade winds. These are usually predictable winds, blowing from anywhere from 10 to 30 knots, which drive small vessels from East to West before them. Theoretically anybody with a seaworthy craft – even a beer barrel – can therefore cross the Atlantic given time – all they have to do is drift with the wind and the waves and they will eventually get there – assuming they have enough food, water and patience.
This year has been the turn of at least two transatlantic rowing challenges. The bigger one was the Atlantic Challenge, in which 17 rowing boats of all sizes took off form La Gomera in the Canaries to race against each other to stake a claim on the 3000 nautical miles to Barbados in the Caribbean. The other was the Atlantic Odyssey – a six man team trying to beat a 30 day record to cross from the Moroccan coast to Barbados.
Neither of these challenges has been incident free.
One of the boats was rolled by an enormous wave, after floundering in heavy 10 metre swells for days. The oars were lost, but the crew kept rowing after having their oars replaced by a back up yacht. The yacht, the “Aurora”, was towing another boat that had completely lost its electrical power and was being used for spares.
Another rowing boat with four amputees on board lost the use of their desalinator. These small machines are used on the boats to convert seawater into drinking water. Without fresh water, the crew had progressively reduced their intake and had to wait for the Aurora to deliver another machine.
Another crew had lost their boat altogether after a capsize, but luckily for them they had been picked up by a nearby passing luxury cruise liner and got carried to St Maarten in the Caribbean in style and comfort.
The boats, who accept outside assistance from the “Aurora” or anybody else, are automatically disqualified form the race even if they keep going under their own steam.
More fortunate was a five woman rowing team, who completed a world record crossing in 45 days when they arrived in Barbados, a little unsteady on their feet, earlier this month.
Also successful was Andrew Robinson, a solo rower, who completed the fastest solo crossing ever, arriving in Barbados, after 39 days.
But spare a thought for the Atlantic Odyssey crew of 6 in the veteran rowing boat, the “Sara G.” They are still at sea, struggling with winds that are just a little too light. This crew of 6 athletes is trying to make the crossing from Morocco to Barbados in less than 30 days and to do that they need to keep an average speed of 3.5 knots.
As of today, they still have 500 nautical miles to go and are making slow progress. Cloudy skies and light winds have meant that their power is down and they have had to cut back on water and food as the desalinator is used to provide water for their dehydrated food rations as well.
They are still in with a chance at the record though, and with 6 days to go they are already dreaming of dry land, a shower, a good meal and a bottle or two of Barbados’ famous Mt Gay rum!
